What is the Average Phlebotomist Salary in the United States?

According to Salary.com, the average salary of a phlebotomist is around $34,000 per year.

Phlebotomists can expect a salary around $31,000 per year

However, your salary can differ from the average depending on your experience and your location. Having more experience should raise your salary.

But your location can either increase or decrease your expected pay. So let’s examine the typical phlebotomy pay in your city and state. Take a look below at the list of the median salary for a phlebotomist in the most populated city of all 50 states.

Phlebotomist Salary by State – How Much Do Phlebotomy Technicians Make in Your State?

Use this table as a starting point to understand how much you’re worth. When you negotiate your salary with an employer, keep these numbers handy! If your employer is offering you a lower salary than the median, it should be because you have limited experience.

How Much Does a Phlebotomy Technician Make an Hour?

Okay, the yearly estimates are great.

But what if you want to work part time or flexible hours? How much do Phlebotomy Technicians make an hour?

If you’re looking into a part-time position, it’s more helpful to understand the phlebotomy hourly wage. Again, your pay will depend on your city’s cost of living. But as a general reference, here are several different sources stating the hourly wages of a Phlebotomy Technician:

The BLS estimates that Phlebotomy Technicians averaged $17.01 per hour in 2011

But again, your pay will differ depending on where you live. A good way to calculate hourly salary from the median salary is to divide the median salary by 2080.

For example, the median phlebotomist salary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is $29,134. If you divide 29,134 by 2,080, you can estimate the hourly wage as about $14 per hour.

How Does a Phlebotomist Salary Compare to Other Medical Jobs?

A phlebotomist’s paycheck is closer to most entry-level healthcare positions. So don’t expect to be paid handsomely like a doctor.

But it’s good to understand how much other positions are paid. Since many phlebotomists plan to transition into a higher-paying healthcare position in the future, let’s review the pay of a few other healthcare professionals.

Doctors - Medical doctors in a private family practice earned $220,942 per year on average. Meanwhile, specialists average over $300,000 per year, or about ten times the Phlebotomy Technician salary.

Physician’s Assistants (or PAs) – Physician’s assistants made about $90,930 per year in 2012. Their average hourly pay was about $43.72 per hour.

Nurses - Registered nurses averaged $65,470 per year, or about $31.48 per hour, in 2012. Anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners earned an average of about $65,470 per year, which averages to about $31.48 per hour. Licensed practical or vocational nurses averaged $41,540 per year, or about $19.97 per hour.

Medical Technicians – Medical technicians made about $47,820 per year on average in 2012. Their hourly pay was about $22.99.

Paramedics – Paramedics and emergency medical technicians averaged about the same amount of money as phlebotomists. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians averaged about $31,020 per year, or $14.91 per hour.

Nursing Assistants – Nursing assistants averaged $24,400 per year in 2012, or a little less than phlebotomists made. On average they made about $11.73 per hour.

What Does a Starting Phlebotomy Salary Look Like?

At any new job, in experienced worker starts at the bottom of the pay scale. Phlebotomy is no exception.

The starting Phlebotomy Technician pay is on average $10.46 per hour, according to the BLS. But remember, as you gain more experience, your phlebotomy hourly wage should start to match the median rates in your city.

How Much is a Phlebotomy Technician Salary WITH Experience?

After a couple years, your phlebotomist pay should start to match the median wage of phlebotomists in your city.

The upper 10% of Phlebotomy Technicians earn hourly pay of $20.77 (or a yearly pay of $43,190) but it takes years to reach this level. Especially at a hospital, which tend to have standardized policies that offer lower raises.

How Does a Certified Phlebotomy Technician Salary Compare to a Non-Certified Phlebotomist?

Does earning a phlebotomy certification actually help increase pay?

The numbers say yes. But the stats are a bit skewed.

The reason is that only a handful of states require a phlebotomist to have a certification. One of them is California, which has a high cost of living, and thus a higher pay. So while the average numbers are higher for a registered phlebotomy techinican salary, it’s mainly because they live in a highly paid state.

But certifications are not useless. With a national phlebotomy certification, salary can be negotiated at a higher rate because you have a stronger skillset than non-certified phlebotomists.

In addition, having the certification could also help you to get hired faster. On paper, the nationally certified phlebotomist looks much better than someone who just has the bare minimum credentials.

Which Employers Pay the Highest Phlebotomy Salary?

Your pay rate doesn’t just depend on your state. Or you credentials.

It also depends on who hires you.

Let’s take a look at some of the top employers of phlebotomists, from highest to lowest pay:

Hospitals – Specialty hospitals pay a little more than general hospitals. Specialty hospitals pay around $16.96 per hour, while a general hospital pays around $14.70 per hour.

Physician’s Offices – Physician’s offices usually pay a little less than general medical surgical hospitals. A phlebotomist working for a physician makes $14.96 per hour on average.

Labs – A Phlebotomy Technician working in a clinical laboratory makes $13.00 per hour.

Nursing Homes – A phlebotomist working in nursing homes makes $12.00 per hour.

Blood Donation Center – A phlebotomist working at a blood donation center makes $11.00 to $12.10 per hour.

How Can You Increase Your Phlebotomy Salary Throughout Your Career?

There are three main ways to be paid more as a phlebotomist:

Experience

Employer

Hours Worked

Increasing Your Pay with Experience

Having more years under your belt should always increase your pay.

Let’s use a phlebotomist in Houston, Texas as an example. A new phlebotomist with no experience, should expect a starting pay of around $26,000.

A starting phlebotomy salary begins at $26,000 a year

However, after 4 more years of experience, the expected pay jumps to $30,000. An increase of over 15%!

And the phlebotomist salary jumps up a few thousand with 4 years of experience!

Your experience should always command a higher pay. So while a starting phlebotomy technician may make in the mid $20,000s to start, you should expect to reach the $30,000s as your career matures. Often times, a phlebotmist with over five years of experience will make over $30,000 per year.

Increasing Your Pay by Changing Employers

The second factor to increase your pay is your employer. Simply put, some employers pay more than others. It pays to work for insurance companies rather than blood donation centers.

Rather than staying with an employer for years and getting mediocre raises, consider leveraging your experience for a new job at other companies.

Increasing Your Pay with Odd Hours

Working odd hours will also increase your phlebotomy pay. Hospitals require staff 24-7. This means staffing even late at night, and early in the morning. Working these hours often comes with an increase in pay.

But this kind of bonus pay will depend on the policy of your employer.

Phlebotomy salaries will rise when you take the late night shift!

How Can You Develop Your Phlebotomy Career?

As a phlebotomist, you will start off as a Phlebotomy Technician I, or Phlebotomist I. With experience, you should be able to reach the second level(e.g. Phlebotomy Technician II) which will come with more responsibilities. With each promotion, you should see a salary raise as your job title and responsibilities improve.

Then, a tenured phlebotomist may see an opportunity for a supervisor position. While a supervisor may still conduct the occasional stick, the supervisor spends most of their time training and managing their staff. Again, this type of promotion will come with a salary raise of around $5,000 – $7,000 more than before.

If you’re looking to increase your pay beyond a supervisor, you should train in other healthcare fields. If healthcare interests you, you may want to consider nursing or a physician’s assistant. Otherwise, your pay will start to plateau as you reach supervisor-level positions in phlebotomy.